FOR RELEASE
September 1, 1998
Contact: Julie GreenSTATEMENT BY U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION RICHARD W. RILEY
On Action by the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee's action recognizes the importance of making practical investments in education and is a marked improvement from the House Committee's appropriations bill. The President has outlined a bold agenda to help local schools address critical needs. Clearly, the priorities outlined in this Senate bill respond to the President's call for meaningful improvements in education and are much more in line with the needs of our nation's students, parents, teachers and schools.
I continue to have strong concerns about some specifics in the bill and will work with Congress to create high national standards for all of our children and encourage full funding for critical programs so that our children can read well and independently by the end of third grade; have access to high quality after-school programs; learn with computers in their classrooms; prepare early for college; get the individual attention they need in early grades; and are educated in new, safe, and modern buildings. Education is and should be an American issue, not a partisan issue and I look forward to working with Congress to improve the quality of education for all our children.
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